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It's Only Natural

Here is Angela Davis doppelgänger (Karly Loyce) with unrelaxed hair, little make up and no discernible undergarments looking dead-pan to camera, captured by Juergen Teller who does 'natural' so well. Pretty radical when you consider that Celine is a bona fide haute brand.

Why does natural seem so shocking, so confrontational? Following on from our post on Christopher Williams, perhaps it is because our collective gaze has become so accustomed to the unnatural: the plucked, contoured beauty idiom which permeates much of mass culture.

The advent of Photoshop and new developments in camera technology can now show us the world how we would like it to be, not how it really is.

In our attempts to escape from reality and an increasing anxiety about what reality actually is - witness the evolution of Big Brother from an Orwellian-inspired fly on the wall show, to a knowing, branded enterprise complete with the creation of the 'real life' celebrity.

This fantasy beauty ideal has its counterpoint in the raw representations to be found in high end fashion magazines and campaigns. Make no mistake, there is a portion of the populace kicking against unattainable beauty and when future-thinking brands such as Celine are pushing the natural aesthetic you know that a change is going to come.

Of course, a third way is for women to be liberated from an either/or approach and do exactly as they please: 'done', 'undone', curly, straight, short, long. All options are available at SALAKO: Real Hair for Real Women.